Henri Jeannings
Early Life (1678-1700) Henry Jennings was born Henri Jeannings in 1678. As a boy he grew up in the port city of Marseilles, enthralled by stories of the French Corsairs who would attack the enemies of Louis XIV at sea. He privately aspired to be an officer in the regular French Navy when he became a man. In 1690, it looked like he might get his chance when his mother died and his father Alain, maddened by grief, sold the family heirlooms. Henri believed this would pay for a military education, but in reality, it was used to finance his mother's funeral. Henri was devastated by the loss of his mother and any chance of a military career along with it. In December 1691, Alain Jeannings made the mistake of harboring several wanted Protestants in his home. This placed him in the crosshairs of the French police force, the Dragoons, who promptly arrested him. He was released after a prominent corsair, Francois Clermont, vouched for his innocence. Jeannings believed that this would be without strings attached; in this he was sorely mistaken. Clermont demanded payment. Alain refused and was killed in February 1692, just days before Henri's 13th birthday. Now an orphan with only two surviving relations (his infant sister and uncle Maurice), Henri was summoned before Clermont. Clermont demanded Jeannings make payment within a month. With no way to pay his father's debt, Jeannings escaped, with Clermont in hot pursuit. Fleeing to his uncle Maurice, Henry was smuggled out of France, sailing first to Portugal, then to Scotland. Maurice did not survive his nephew's escape for long; shortly thereafter he was murdered by the newly arrived Irish Jacobite, Edward Teach, under orders from Clermont. In 1697, Jeannings, now under the alias Henry Jennings, enlisted in the militia element of the so called "Darien Expedition", an attempt to colonize lower Panama for the Scottish Crown. It was at his enlistment in Edinburgh that Jennings first met Edward England, a Yorkshire Catholic who'd fled England after the "Glorious Revolution" which swept the Catholic King from power. England had hoped to find a tolerant Scotland since the Highlanders were almost universally Catholic, but unfortunately for him, the Presbyterian recruiting sergeant in Edinburgh found out he was Catholic and beat him severely. Jennings rushed to save England, but was only successful in distracting the recruiting sergeant, who turned to beat him. Fortunately for the two, a Scottish colonel reprimanded the sergeant, and the rest of their training went off without a hitch. By 1699, the militia had arrived in Panama. Jennings, England and several others were sent out on a patrol. They were promptly ambushed by Spanish troops under the command of Edward Teach, who'd left France for a mission to procure sugar in the Caribbean. Teach was captured and brought back to the fort. Jennings interrogated him, finding (to his mild amusement) that Clermont was alive, and that Teach didn't like him. Soon, the Darien expedition began to fall apart, due to the lack of support from the Crown. Jennings, England, Teach, and a few others took the opportunity to desert. Jennings and his friends landed in Curaçao, remaining there for some months and setting up a sugar plantation, buying dozens of slaves and using them to harvest the sugar. Leaving a few Dutch privateers in control of the operation, Teach, Jennings, and England sailed to Marseilles. There, they met with the now elderly Clermont. After a brief conversation, Jennings cut open Clermont's stomach in revenge for his father's death. However, one of the French pirates guarding Clermont shot at the fleeing men. He was killed by England, but not before shooting the Englishman in the leg, leaving him with a permanent limp. The trio then return to the West Indies. The Wars for Gold (1701-1716) https://the-treasure.fandom.com/wiki/Henry_Jennings?action=edit&section=2 Jennings, Teach and England fought bravely in the War of the Spanish Succession, becoming famous throughout the Caribbean. Upon the war's end in 1714, the men discovered that their lucrative sugar operation had been hijacked by the Dutch. Determined that such a thing would never happen again, Jennings, England, and Teach sailed to Jamaica, establishing a small plantation outside of Kingston. There, they met with fellow privateers Benjamin Hornigold and Samuel Bellamy. In mid summer, 1714, the Royal Governor banned the issuing of letters of marque (a carte blanche for piracy) to avoid offending the Spanish. Riots broke out in Kingston, and Jennings' plantation became a refuge for ex-privateers fleeing the Royal wrath. Although Jennings remained free of any charges from the Crown authorities, he was warned by Lieutenant Robert Maynard that next time he would not be so lucky. This marks the beginning of the events as depicted in the film The Treasure. In July of the following year, a Spanish treasure fleet departed Havana, bound for Spain. But less than a week into the voyage, the fleet sank with all hands and treasure. The Spanish forces in St Augustine sent troops to create a salvage camp. Jennings received word of the fleet's demise and the subsequent establishment of the camp from Benjamin Hornigold, who'd helped in initial salvage operations. In mid-October 1715, Jennings officially partnered himself with Samuel Bellamy and his crew, determined to seize the treasure from under Spain's nose. In the event, the expedition went wrong almost from the start. Bellamy was a New England Puritan, with many Puritans and Calvinists aboard. In contrast, Jennings and his men were mostly either Anglicans or Catholics. This led to violent tension between the crews, especially when Bellamy's nine year old cabin boy, the so-called "Puritan Pet" John Caine, tried to kill Edward England. Bellamy calmed his cabin boy, but prospects for peace were not good. After an initial botched attack on a Spanish picket line a mile south of the salvage camp, Bellamy and Jennings sailed directly into the salvage camp and massacred the guards before making off with 300,000 pesos. The ships then headed to Andros, the largest island in the Bahamas. After landing on Christmas Eve, England held prayer with the Catholics, acting as an unofficial priest. This enraged Caine, who attempted to kill England. Several Catholics, including Teach pinned Caine to the ground while England bludgeoned the boy to death. Bellamy was furious. He stabbed Jennings and Hornigold, shouting "Death to the Papists!". His crew quickly followed as Bellamy himself chased England into the jungle. After a swift duel, Bellamy nearly killed England, but was stabbed several times by Jennings, who'd survived thanks to a cuirass which he'd purchased in Nassau. With their leader dead, Bellamy's men surrendered. Some stayed, others were more than happy to leave the deserted island. On his ship, Jennings received into his crew the former Royal Marine Charles Vane, who'd joined Bellamy after the War of the Spanish Succession in search of employment. Upon arrival in Kingston in January, the privateers were met by Royal Marines and militia, under orders from the governor to arrest Henry Jennings. Posing as one of Jennings' underlings, Jennings got his some of his men off the ships. Edward England, Edward Teach, and John Rackham all left. Charles Vane, Thomas Hamilton, and the 17 year old confidante of Jennings, John Taylor remained. They arrived in the Bahamas two weeks later. End of all Associations (1716-1720) By late 1716, Jennings had established himself as the dominant criminal force in the Bahamas, supported by Teach, England, Vane, and Taylor. He raked in money from every plantation in the islands and had a controlling interest in the sugar trade from the Caribbean to Europe. Many merchants existed in name only, a front, allowing Jennings to bring in a massive amount of cash. He undercut his legitimate competition by pretending to be multiple businessmen in his correspondence. His income was temporarily threatened in 1717, when Edward Teach left his plantations in St Kitts to begin "The Great Raid" against French and British ships. Edward England, who'd recently departed Nassau for Jamaica after a routine tribute to Jennings, claimed that Teach had promised him three plantations before he left on his voyage. However, Teach's deputy, Charles Vane, sailed to Nassau to inform Jennings that, far from giving England plantations, Teach had actually demanded England give him the controlling interest over a spice plantation on Curaçao. Jennings was prepared to settle in favor of England until Robert Maynard and the Royal Navy arrived, intent on capturing and executing Jennings. They brought their prisoner, Edward England along with them, who'd been captured after his arrival in Kingston. Enraged by the betrayal, Jennings attempted to kill England, but was restrained by Reginald "Francis" Baring and arrested. After a week under arrest, Jennings was interrogated by Baring and Maynard regarding Edward Teach's location. Jennings revealed that Teach's ultimate destination was Ocracoke Inlet in North Carolina, and was given an informal pardon by Baring. He then bribed both Baring and Maynard to leave England behind in Nassau under his supervision. Within 18 months, Teach was dead and Maynard was back in Nassau. At a party to celebrate the Navy's major success, England left early. Soon thereafter a shot was fired into the tavern, killing one of Jennings men. A smoking musket was found outside England's door. What had actually happened was that Jennings had instructed Charles Vane to fire the shot into the building. He would then frame England. The effort was successful; England and John Taylor were exiled from Nassau. Six months later, England, now a merchant, was sailing off the Brazilian coast when his helmsman, Taylor, nearly slammed into a Portuguese ship. England was outraged. But an hour after the near collision, he was strangled to death by Taylor. Taylor then sent the ship back to the Bahamas, informing Jennings in person. To tie up any loose ends, Jennings killed Taylor on the beach. Charles Vane, his final associate, was stunned. Jennings then framed him for the murder, and Vane was summarily hanged. Jennings had learned the ultimate lesson in power: share it with none.